


The Art of War (REMASTERED)

by Lolamz



Series: The Great Hollow Knight AU [6]
Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: oc: knightmare, oc: virgil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-12 15:27:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28637757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lolamz/pseuds/Lolamz
Summary: a remaster of my "art of war" fic. The premise and plot will remain mostly identical however i believe the writing quality and flow of the story should be improved. The original can be seen belowThe character Knightmare, is my OC, who's profile and art can be found through this link- https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ye7l3hSzchWSE8lB_k9aQgqv2lb2B3bjpkfJJH0HIio/edit
Series: The Great Hollow Knight AU [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2103228
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Art of War](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25845757) by [Lolamz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lolamz/pseuds/Lolamz). 



“Check.”  
Monomon sighed, before blocking Lurien's rook with her pawn. “What's the word from your scouts?”  
“The husks in the far lands are planning something, my knights are unsure as to what, but our early intelligence suggests they want-” he stopped, to take Monomon’s queen off the board, “to declare war.”  
Monomon took the opportunity to take Lurien’s queen, evening the board, “war? On Hallownest?”  
“Yes, I believe they see our lack of a king as a weakness. They will soon learn that it's our greatest strength.” Lurien began, as he advanced his bishop, “all my loyalties aside, he wasn't the greatest ruler.”  
“Oh, look at you! Blaspheming against the wyrm. Did you notify the others?” Monomon replied, blocking his advancement.  
“Messengers have been sent to deepnest and the hive. I have also spoken with Grimm, alerting him of what’s to come.”  
“Is he willing to help?”  
“Yes. He is eager to assist us, as a form of repayment for the ritual that saved the nightmare heart.” Lurien replied, before pushing his bishop once more, using it to eliminate Monomon’s king-side rook.  
“What about the other factions? Can we get assistance from the mantis sisters?”  
“That shall be discussed tonight, once my messengers give me the news.” Lurien replied, marking Monomon’s king once again.  
“Checkmate.” Monomon replied, placing her knight in the fatal position for Lurien’s king, while simultaneously blocking the mark on her own.  
“Ah! A masterful move. We are fortunate to have your intelligence on our side.” 

That night, the higher council assembled. The dreamers, as well as vespa and Grimm had all been notified. The white lady was yet to find the news, and as such entered the dream with much higher spirits than the rest of them.  
“Good evening, my lady.” Lurien said with a bow, his voice stoic and solemn, “please take a seat.”  
“Whats going on?” the White Lady whispered to Herrah, who sat next to her around the meeting table.  
“Higher beings, my scouts have returned from the far lands with pressing news. Their armies have been plotting…” Vespa began.  
“Plotting? For what?” the white lady interrupted, panic in her voice  
“War.” Monomon replied.  
“Oh my heavens above, war on hallownest!” she gasped, “our kingdom!”  
“Yes, it is unfortunate,” Herrah said, “but we are not alone in this.”  
“I assume you all have some sort of plan right?” the white lady asked, an element of despair in her voice. The pale king left the kingdom to her in his will, and despite her realising his actions were far from the right thing to have done- she was still grateful for his generosity in his passing. The kingdom had been restored since his death. It was now a home to the citizens, not a battle ground. A kingdom that can now truly last eternal.

Lurien placed down a large scroll, before rolling it out, the scroll sprawling across the ethereal table in the meeting hall.  
“The plan is to hold the howling cliffs. Myself, Vespa, and our armies shall hold the front lines. The mantis lords have agreed to help, and so they shall flank the enemy from behind.”  
“What about the rest of the tribe?” Monomon asked.  
“Minerva told me that she didn't want to risk the entire legacy of the tribe, and so they will be staying in the kingdom.”  
“What about us?” Herrah asked, “myself, Hornet and Grimm?”  
“Now, should something unforeseen arrive that the armies cannot handle, we will fall back to dirtmouth. The town elder has already evacuated the remaining residents, and I have assured him the kingdom’s treasury will pay for any damages. From there we can utilise the buildings as well as the well for an ambush, where flame and silk can become our strongest weapons.”  
“And what about those of us- unfit- for battle?” the white lady asked.  
“Teacher, pale root, both of you will be taking shelter in the dream realm.” vespa explained before turning to the nightmare king, “you and any other troupe members that come to your aid will be residing in there too, and the queen,” she paused to turn back to the white lady, “will be able to teleport you into the battlefield with ease, allowing for an element of surprise.”  
“Speaking of the white palace, we will all have to be staying in there- not only the nightmare troupe, but my army and yours, until the scouts call for us.” Lurien added, “We need to be on call and ready to return to the real world at any moment, and the dream realm is the perfect way for us to do that.”  
“And what about the knights? Or perhaps the guardians?” Monomon asked, “I'm sure Quirrel will be willing to help in our efforts.”  
“The guardians and remaining great knights can either join us on the front lines, or choose to protect the one they were “assigned” to,” Lurien explained, “I know Lumen will be staying in the city, for i assigned him to become the next watcher of the city should i fall.”  
“Bumble will be fighting alongside me- he is my right hand knight after all.” Vespa continued.  
“Same goes for Hornet- my daughter and I make an excellent team.” Herrah added.  
“Do we know of any reason as to why they are declaring war?” Grimm asked.  
“Riches, I would assume,” Lurien began, “or perhaps they see us as an easy target- what with the infection and no monarch. But as I mentioned to Monomon- what they think are our weaknesses are actually our greatest strengths!”

*  
“Alright! Lieutenants, masters, sisters!” Minerva announced, “Hallownest is soon to be under siege. Myself and my sisters have been commanded by the higher beings to join forces with those from the deepnest, to hold off the assault.”  
“So, a truce?” a mantis soldier asked.  
“Effectively, yes. We shall be fighting alongside them, for the safety of our kingdom!” Minerva shouted, raising her spear as the sisters behind her did the same, before her tone fell solemn, “if we fall, the tribe must stay strong without us.”  
“Stay strong without you? We can't!”  
“You must, dear sister.” Minerva said calmly, crouching down in front of her right hand lady, “The treasury houses our manuscripts for leading, and also our marks of pride. Three of you shall be chosen by a grueling trial by combat, and the strongest three shall become the new lords, bearing the marks and ruling the village.”

*  
“Knightmare, i need to speak with you.” Grimm said, interrupting the rehearsal.  
“How important is it? We’re nearly finished.”  
“It's very important, come now.” he replied, before returning to his office, as Knightmare followed him swiftly.  
“What is it, master?”  
“Hallownest is soon to be at war with the husks of the far lands. They have requested me as their backup. I must go and defend the kingdom from them.”  
“Master, you can't! We cant lose you!”  
“You can, the kin will gain my power if I fall. Yourself on the other hand. You support a large portion of the nightmare hearts power. Losing you would make it unstable again. We just can't lose you!”  
“But without a king the nightmare heart can't sustain itself! We would likely need many sacrifices until the kin is powerful enough to take on the role. Our sacrifice would be equal.”  
Grimm growled in frustration. Knightmare was right, the heart would be in grave danger if either of them fell in combat, and the troupe would be lost in the process.  
“Taking me with you would allow for a higher chance of survival, as if either of us fall into a critical state, the other one of us can bring us both back.” Knightmare continued to explain  
“I see. Meet me in the arena at midnight. I shall bring you into the white palace, where we stay until we are needed." Grimm sighed, reluctantly agreeing with the nightmare vessel.

*  
“Who goes there?!” yelled a voice from the water ways, “I am Ogrim! Proud protector of the Grove.”  
“Its me, ogrim, a friend.” hornet replied, her voice calming and gentle.  
“S-sentinel? What ho! What brings you down here? A nice visit to see a friend?” he replied, approaching Hornet  
“That's part of it, but I come bearing bad news.”  
“I see,” orgrim replied, his booming voice quieting to allow Hornet to speak, “tell me, please, you mustn't hesitate.”  
“Ogrim, we need you. Hallownest is soon to be under siege and we will be at war. You must help us.”  
Ogrim thought about it for a moment. “To serve under the royal council? Oh joy! A chance to redeem myself!”  
“Thank you ogrim, now come on, we need to leave. The early intel suggests they will siege very soon. We mustn't waste another second.”  
Hornet dashed out of the waterways, pulling herself up and out of the tunnels with her needle and thread, as Ogrim followed swiftly, his incredible speed and stamina seemingly returning to him as they left the tunnels and headed for the surface.


	2. Chapter 2

“Attention!”  
The watcher knights stood instinctively at the call, holding a salute as Lurien entered the barracks. They were stationed in a small battle camp on the outskirts of dirtmouth, preparing for the assault.  
“At ease,” Lurien said, allowing the knights to take seats on their beds as he briefed them, “more intel has returned. An undercover agent has discovered that they will be attacking in one, massive wave. Thus, we have changed our plans. Instead of splitting off into groups, we too, shall fight as one.” Lurien pulled a scroll out from his  
“Yes commander!” the knights shouted in unison.

*  
“Yes queen!” the knights shouted in unison.  
“In addition to this,” Vespa continued, “the plan has been changed. You must watch for a crimson flare. At this point, fall back and hold a perimeter. The dreamers tell me we have some form of secret weapon that we will bring out, should the situation call for it.”  
“Why can't we just use the weapon immediately?” Bumble asked.  
“Because it can cause immense collateral damage,” Vespa replied “some of which may be irreversible. We need all of you to be safe to avoid it, clear?”  
“Clear!” the hive guardian replied.

The chants of the enemy factions became louder as they approached over the horizon, thousands of troops charging in a disorganised fashion, trained to fight in the pure chaos of the far lands. As the horde came close enough, Lurien unsheathed his blade.  
“KNIGHTS! We take our stand here! We take our stand now! We take our stand- for the glory OF THE KINGDOM!” Lurienien bellowed, before charging in with to battle, his watcher knights behind him backing him with the brute force of the charge, their rumbling footsteps harmonising with the hum of the bees flying beside them as both armies clashed into combat. Lurien and Vespa fought together with incredible prowess, the watcher slicing the husks into pieces while the hive queen impaled them with her own nail and stinger. The knights did the same- as a watcher knight became overwhelmed with husks, a group of bees would strafe round and pick off the group. If a battalion of bees was getting overwhelmed, the watcher knights’ sheer size and strength compared to the others would be able to brute force them off. While battle raged in the front lines, deep in enemy territory the mantis lords were able to take out the battle commandants in the back lines of the horde, causing chaos as the horde became unwieldy and disorganised, making them all the easier to take out.

But as time passed, the horde seemed endless. The fatigue began to take its toll and the knights began to tire, weakening and becoming overwhelmed more easily. Even as chaotic as the combat was, the sheer numbers of the husks made them far stronger than the strength of the watcher and hive knights, and their stamina was dwindling.  
“My knights! You grow weak, retreat! We shall hold the perimeter at the town. Retreat!” he called across the battlefield, and the beetles and bees fell back, allowing the husks to gain the ground they defended. As they retreated, Lurien reached into his belt from behind his cloak, and grabbed a flask shaped object and tossed it high into the air, before it exploded into a brilliant crimson firework- the signal.

**  
While the battle raged on the surface, the secondary unit composed of Hornet, Ogrim, the mantis lords, Grimm and Knightmare were preparing for their engagement. The white lady would be able to teleport them into the battle within moments- a quick incantation getting them all from A to B. Monomon was monitoring the battlefield with her experimental cameras- feeding her a live video direct to her monitors. She watched as the hordes slowly overwhelmed the knights, before she noticed Lurien toss the flare into the sky.  
“You’re up.” she said calmly to the group. Grimm let out a smirk as he heard the words, while Knightmare jolted up, itching for a fight.  
“Knightmare, Grimm, you first.” the white lady instructed, before offering them both a root that had flickers off essence floating off the ends of it. As the two nightmare beings made contact with the roots, they were immediately transcended into the real world. The beast and sentinel followed, followed lastly by Ogrim.

*  
The hordes rushed through the king's pass, funneling through the kingdom barricade which acted as a form of choke point. Flashes of essence appeared in front of the perimeter established by the knights, as Knightmare and Grimm appeared from the dream realm.  
“You hear that Knightmare? The enraged voices of those husks, they haven't seen a nightmare before. Are you ready to give them one?” Grimm couldn’t help but give a sly grin as he turned to Knightmare who’s cracked mask was glowing, left hand holding a ball of shaded flames, with his right hand clasped on the handle of his nightmare nail.  
“Ready? You will have to try to keep up with me!” kngihtmare said, confidence brimming in his voice.  
“Well, let's see what you’ve got!” Grimm concluded, jumping and pirouetting in the air, a burst of nightmare flame and essence consuming his form, transforming him from troupe master to nightmare king.

As Grimm landed, he paused momentarily to channel his power, but as he did so, the ground rumbled beneath him, and before him rose a giant husk, taller than the watcher spire, which climbed its way out of the ground, and immediately charged at Knightmare  
“Knightmare, look out!” Grimm called, and Knightmare turned to see the gargantuan being before him. The nightmare vessel quickly strafed out of the way of the giant’s footsteps, before allowing his wings to spread full. Taking flight, he called to Grimm to attack the main horde- “I can handle this, help the knights!”  
Grimm trusted the vessel, and flew down in front of the horde, channelling degrees of temperatures unfathomable, before engaging with the thousands of hostile husks.

“You…” roared the giant.  
“Hm, try me.” Knightmare said, before throwing a ball of shaded flames directly at the giants head. Flying at breakneck speed he was able to dodge the flurries of punches the giant threw at him. Knightmare’s void and nightmare hearts were pumping energy through every blood vessel in his body, which allowed him to truly flourish in combat. Driving his nail into the giant’s eye, the massive husk fell, staggered on the ground. The force from its body collapsing onto the ground ended up shattering the bones in its skull, consequently killing it on impact, while colossal shockwave that followed caused all the far-land husks to lose their balance, allowing Grimm to finish them off with little resistance.

*  
The remaining members of the cavalry had transcended into the battlefield, which was significantly calmer now that most of the horde and the giant had been slain. However, the battle was only just beginning, as the ground rumbled once more, before two more overwhelming husks emerged from the ground. Slightly smaller than the first, yet both of them combined had many times the strength and durability.  
Herrah merely had to whisper one command to Hornet, before the pair of them worked in a perfect tandem- Herrah prokoking the giant to swing at her, before letting loose fLurienries of stabs and pierces with her dual needles while its weaker joints were exposed, while Hornet circled the giant, wrapping its ankles in silk. The giant let out roars of pain as it collapsed to the ground, dying on contact as the larger one did.

The other giant, meanwhile, was being dealt with solely by Ogrim. The dung beetle may not have the immense strength that he once had when holding off the Blackwyrm assault, yet he still had enough power to handle himself. With a masterful leap he slugged the giant right in the face, causing it to stagger momentarily, before raising its leg in an attempt to crush Ogrim. The colossus forced as much weight onto Ogrim as it could, yet Ogrim was just barely able to prevent his own demise.  
“Heave ho!” Ogrim bellowed, before pushing upwards against the giant's mass, staggering the giant off balance, as it fell to its demise on contact with the ground, succumbing to the same fate as its brethren.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the character Virgil is an OC developed specifically for this AU: his porfile can be found here  
> https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wXmFUG31Bhj3K1ngvkqLkbmGqaDZz4a9AP0QFKMZkTQ/edit

“Ah, Hallownest” said a voice, “the kingdom that resisted…”  
As the dust from the giants settled, a cloaked figure shrouded in dark mist seemingly floated among the devastation of the battleground. Watcher knight and hive knight corpses lay beaten in the dirt, and as the figure approached the town, the higher beings and guardians stood waiting.  
“Who are you, and why did you come here.”  
“Who i am is not important.” he spoke calmly, controlled, with a clear sense of intelligence, “what matters is this kingdom is mine.”  
“NEVER!” Herrah bellowed, “we fight until the last of us falls!”. Her and hornet simultaneously drew their needles and engaged with breakneck speed, however the figure took none of it, drawing his nail and deflecting the pair of them, sending hornet staggered across the battlefield and shattering Herrah’s needles into twain. The beats growled as she engaged in melee combat with the figure, her sharp claws, large size and immense strength carrying her advantage, but the figure countered her with ease, gouging his nail deep into her side, before sending her in the same way as her daughter.  
“Mother!” hornet cried, dashing over to herrah. She was far enough away that the figure didn’t seem to care about what they were doing.  
“Hornet, we must- leave this place” Herrah spluttered, “come, we leave now.”

“To think this kingdom is yours will be the last mistake you ever make.” Grimm said through gritted teeth. “Knightmare-” Grimm stopped to turn around and look at the nightmare vessel, “-show him what real power looks like…”  
Knightmare flourished his wings and dashed at the figure, landing a clean strike onto the figure. The energy in the nightmare nail set the figure ablaze, yet he seemed unphased by his burns.  
“Your power is nothing compared to mine…” the figure chuckled, “not even a pure flame can harm me!”  
Grimm decided to test this, channeling all the energy he could muster into his fists which began to burn. He then teleported in front of the figure and slugged him dead in the face, before engaging in combat, landing flurries of flaming blows onto the figure, while Knightmare’s blade kept him occupied, preventing the figure from fully retaliating at Grimm.  
“ENOUGH!” the figure bellowed, before planting his nail into the ground and focusing his strength into the ground, causing a shockwave that staggered them both, “your troupe is nothing more than a circus of clowns, Grimm! And now your demise will be its next sacrifice.” the figure taunted, approaching the nightmare king. He was about to stab his nail through grimm’s chest, when Knightmare blocked it for him. This gave Grimm enough time to teleport back into the nightmare realm, where he could regain enough strength to bring Knightmare back too.

“You kidnapped my brother, took him from me... I will not let you take my father too!” Knightmare screamed in rage, before mimicking the action the figure did- slamming his nail into the ground, which caused a shockwave of immense fire to burn across the figure, before striking again with his nail. However this blow was parried by the figure. Knightmare held his stance, keeping the figures blade in place before letting out a bellowing blaze- which would normally kill any mortal set ablaze by nightmare flames, however the figure remained unscathed.  
“I do not care for your family, vessel.” the figure said calmly, “and i will kill you too.” with the last words uttered Knightmare felt the nail pierce through his body, merely an inch or two away from his hearts. Knightmare fel backwards, unable to move from his critical wounds.  
“I must say,” the figure continued, “you have some strength. But in the end, you will all fall to me!” The figure jumped up and plummeted to the floor, nail pointing down to pierce Knightmare’s hearts for good. But with a flash of nightmare essence, Grimm was able to bring him out of the real world.  
The figure turned his attention back to the town, where Lurien had just finished explaining his plan to Vespa, and headed down into the well without her.

“Oh look, the other one left you. Coward!” he said, walking towards Vespa.  
Vespa stepped backwards, trying to retain a distance from the attacker, “He is no coward, you're playing into our plan.” she said through gritted teeth. However, this was merely a way of staling him, since lurien’s plan may not end up working the way he expects it too.  
“Oh? Am i now? Tell me, little hive queen, was this part of your plan? To sacrifice your pathetic little hive knight?” he taunted, tossing Bumble’s unconscious corpse to the ground.  
“You get your dirty hands off him!” she screamed, the rage inside her providing her an unprecedented strength. She landed what would've been a devastating blow onto the figure, but he shrugged it off like it was nothing. However this bought enough time for Bumble to scramble to safety down the well.

“Look around you! This war was nothing more than a charade! Those husks were my pawns in this game, and I, the leader, will take this kingdom by my own hand!”  
Vespa looked around. She saw destruction. The hollow shells of the watcher knights lay scattered, the battalions of bees had been wiped out, their dead bodies scattered across the dirt.  
“Tell me where he went! You wouldn't deceive me from my first treat as king, would you?”

“No, she wouldn't…” said a voice from the distance, “and you are no king!”  
“Lurien! Help please!” she cried, somewhat falsely to incite a false sense of security in the figure.  
“Stop talking to my prisoner!” the figure bellowed over Lurien, throwing his nail at breakneck speed. Lurien, unphased by the threat, parried the incoming nail, before approaching Vespa.  
“My lady, you must go, i can handle this.” Lurien said calmly, placing a hand on her arm. Vespa nodded, grasping his arm as he pulled her up.  
“You cannot let my prize flee like that!” the figure shouted, enraged.  
“Do as I would, and watch. Watch as I free your ‘prize’. Watch as this kingdom you ‘own’ falls back into its rightful hands.”  
“You dare challenge me?! Raise your weapon and fight!”

*  
The pair of them dashed at each other. Lurien was able to match the intruder blow for blow, despite his immense strength and speed.  
“Gah! How can a weakling like you face off against me?!” he shouted, before landing a devastating blow onto Lurien, shattering his mask. Lurien let out a gasp, holding his face in his hands, covering the gaping wound.  
“Tell me watcher..” the figure said, grabbing Lurien by the neck, “why don't you bleed?”  
“It's a secret- given- by my father-”  
“And who was that? Who taught you to hide your pain?” he said, tossing Lurien onto the ground, and preparing to finish him off.  
But Lurien wasn't done. As the nail made contact with his chest, it didn't have enough time to pierce it as a flash of blinding white light shone across them, as the figure was sent staggering backwards. 

Lurien began to levitate. His body floated into the sky, a pale beam shone down from the heavens like a spotlight on a stage. Lurien reawoke as he ascended, and focused. Out of his back grew four pale, monarch wings. His nail grew pure, his body became coated in steel armour, his mind cleansed. From the white palace, the White lady could feel a shift in the higher balance, for a new god had ascended.

Lurien landed on the ground, grasping his nail in one hand, holding his arm out in another. “The wyrm was my father. From a far away time, he raised me into a warrior. Loyal and devoted to him, he chose me to take his place after his demise, and this- is where I make my stand.”

“You- DARE! This kingdom is mine!” The fighter yelled, throwing all his strength and might into a strike. Lurien remained still, his arm out in front of him. As the fighter closed in, he pulsed his hand, and the fighter was sent cascading backwards. Lurien then took flight, catching up to him at an accelerating pace, striking the fighter with vanquishing blows, each causing excessive damage to his body, until it lay dying in the dirt.

“Why did you wish to take this kingdom?” Lurien asked the fallen fighter  
“I was promised a land, a kingdom e-eternal.”  
“Who promised this to you?”  
“The same wyrm who raised you as a warrior.” The fighter spluttered.  
“...brother?” Lurien asked, “is that you virgil?”  
“You have bested me Lurien, both before and now. I can wish only the best for your new life.  
But-“ he coughed mid sentence, spluttering blood as he spoke, “you still have- much to learn.” He said hoarsely, before collapsing.

*  
The higher council meeting that night was a rather strange one. The others insisted that Lurien should become king, even the white lady was willing to give up her overruling power to him- “after all, you are the next of kin.” She said  
“My lady, please,” Lurien began, “I do not wish to be king. Nor do I wish for overruling votes or power. This kingdom was never to last under the reign of one.”  
“Then what do you want?” Monomon asked.  
“My only wish is for nothing to change. We all keep our positions in the council. We work better as a group anyway.”  
“But your ascent,” Grimm interrupted, “your transcendence-“  
It was nothing more than growth, as your child would under a nightmare flame. That doesn't make them king of the nightmares.”  
“The ritual states it does.” Grimm corrected, “but i see what you mean.”  
“I see it too,” Monomon chimed in, “you don't want to be king solely because you metamorphosed. You want to earn it.”  
“Sort of. I don't want to be king- at all.” He explained. “Royalty is not my role in this kingdom, just as how herrah isn't the one to do research and monomon isn't the one to do combat. It simply isn't what i do.”  
“Are you sure?” The white lady asked, “a queen is no queen without her king, is she not?”  
“Speaking from experience,” Vespa said, “that's not true.”  
“Agreed.” Herrah contributed, “a queen can be independant, strong, and powerful with no need for a king.”

*  
“Check”  
Monomon sighed, before blocking Lurien's rook with her pawn. “So when did you know- that- was going to happen?”  
“When I retreated, I fell back to the crossroads to find Hegemol's pale elegy. It's a manuscript to be recited by one deemed true, and I realised once Virgil showed up I had no choice but to try it. I guess my pale heritage led the gods to believe I was true.”  
“Pale elegy? What are those? Do you still have it?”  
“I'm storing it in a safe room, somewhere in the palace, perhaps later I may show it to you. The king gave each knight one. If they were to recite it, and be deemed true, they would be given a power that rivalled the wyrm.”  
“I wonder how he would feel knowing you didn't take after him, in becoming king.” Monomon said, advancing her own rook and changing the subject.  
“I feel he would understand, but part of me knows he would be disappointed.” He replied, pressuring Monomon’s knight with his bishop.  
“And what about Virgil? I never knew you had a brother.”  
“My father banished him to the far lands, after his greed became too great. He promised us both eternal kingdoms, but Virgil wanted more, while I was humbled to share a kingdom under his name, to serve under him and his queen. It seems Virgil wanted the throne more than ever now that the wyrm is dead.”  
“Do you ever think your father would’ve done what you did? Kill your brother to save the kingdom?”  
“No, he would have hidden away in the palace as the war raged.” Lurien said satirically, “he really wasn't a good leader, and come to think of it, not a good father either, to me or the vessels.”  
“Well, I guess it's better he's gone. “Well, I guess it's better he's gone. He may have done some right yet his wrongs far outweigh them.”

As Monomon left the office, Virgil’s own words were carried with Lurien as he dreamt. ‘Much to learn’- he had a long way to go to fill his father’s mold, even if he wasn't following in his footsteps as a monarch, there was still much to be done.


End file.
